Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake

'Tis the pumpkin season! If you hadn't noticed by now from all the pumpkin flavored whatnot - lattes, candy, even body butter. Thankfully, while my love of pumpkin is great...it isn't over the top. For instance, just a few weeks ago I embarked upon a Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake recipe of delicious wonder, mainly because I had a batch of spice buttercream frosting to use up before it went bad (or more importantly, before I ate it all). 

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the finished cake this time. Bad panda, I know. We ate it too quickly! That should be a testament to just how delicious this recipe is. I would likely add some slightly toasted walnuts, were I to do this one again, or maybe a coating of crushed nuts on the perimeter of the cake. Mmmm...walnuts and spice frosting. See, this is exactly why I had to get that frosting out of my house! And with that I instruct you all to go forth, be prosperous, and make use of those holiday leftovers after this coming weekend. 

To make up for my lack of baked good beauty, here is a collection of cakes from this past year. Whew, 2013 was definitely the year of bigger, better cakes in my kitchen! Maybe I should try an ombre cake next??

And another collection of various baked goods from the past few months. All this cold weather has me thinking of trying out new territory - chicken and waffles! 

And of course, one of my little helpers. The ever inquisitive Zip, a.k.a. my shadow. The one who keeps me on my toes and gives me a reason to always clean up after myself. She'll be waiting for Thanksgiving Day madness...mainly for the scraps. Happy holidays!

Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake
Adapted from: Je suis alimentageuse

• 2/3 cup butter, room temp.
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin purée
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp pumpkin spice
• Pinch of clove, ground
• Pinch of nutmeg, ground
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk)
• 2-3 cups of your favorite frosting

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and smooth.

Add in pumpkin purée, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.

Sift in pumpkin spice and other spices, baking powder, flour and salt and mix, gradually adding almond milk until you get a thin yet viscous batter.

Divide the batter between two greased and lined 8" cake pans. Or if making cupcakes, fill each cup with a cupcake liner and then 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, check to see if the cake is done by poking the middle of the cake with a cake tester or toothpick. It should come out either with moist crumbs sticking to it, or clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 minutes, remove the cakes from the pan and let them rest on the wire rack.

Allow cakes to fully cool before frosting. Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting. Store in the fridge for up to a few days.